Sound Change and Syllable Structure in Germanic Phonology

Abstract

Two competing theories exist about the Proto-Germanic syllabication of VCiV and similar sequences: one proposes that the division was V.CiV, the other, VC.iV. Furthermore, three major phonological developments in Germanic groups have never received a satisfactory explanation: consonant gemination in West Germanic, vowel lengthening (with differential constraints) in North Germanic, and glide strengthening in Gothic. This paper proposes a uniform solution for all these problems, based on independently established principles of syllabic phonology: a preference (at least in the Germanic languages) for stressed syllables that have two morae (Prokosch 1939), and a universal preference for syllable onsets that are at least as strong as the preceding syllable offset (Hooper 1976). We provide various kinds of evidence for a Proto-Germanic syllabication VC.iV which is in accordance with Prokosch's principle, but not with Hooper's; and we then explain subsequent developments as different ways of rebalancing the syllable structure to accord with both Prokosch's and Hooper's principles: VC.iV > VC.CiV in West Germanic; VC.iV > V.CIV in North Germanic; and VC.iV > VC.jV in Gothic.*